Qatar says investments in France not driven by 'politics'

Qatar insisted on Monday that there was nothing sinister behind its multi-billion euro investments in France.

The Gulf state's Prime Minister Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani said there was no cause to be suspicious over the motivation for his country's purchase of stakes in French companies, insisting it had nothing to do with politics.

"Qatar is not a country with great political ambitions ... and it wants no political role from its investments in France," Sheikh Hamad said at a press conference in Doha. "We don't do anything without coordinating with the French side," he added.